Hi Dennis,
I got my blast cabinet from Airgas (actually their tool division, name of
which escapes me right now) and have been quite happy with it. It's large
enough
to media blast a wheel, although that would be a tight fit.
Space is at a premium in my work area too. I put the blast cabinet on a
rolling cart, and on the bottom shelf you'll find my larger sandblaster,
supplies
and the wet/dry vac that serves to evacuate dust from the blasting cabinet. Now
I just roll it around to where I want it, or outside temporarily if I'm
working on something else and need space. Just an idea.
I also use a fairly small compressor. With any size cabinet, you can simply
get smaller nozzles and work a little slower if you don't have a sizeable
compressor.
Speaking of which, be sure to get extra nozzles. They wear out like crazy.
Also, I hope the unit you are looking at has interchangeable viewing window
shields of some sort. Mine has self-adhesive clear plastic sheets (that need
some tape to help keep them in place). I find I have to strip them off and
replace about every two or three hours of use, the old one gets so hazy. I'm
glad I
bought two dozen when I got the cabinet a few years ago.
Another key thing is water separation to keep as much moisture out of the
blasting cabinet as possible. I've got two separators, one at the compressor,
the
other at the blasting cabinet, but still get a little moisture. The seperator
at the cabinet needs draining about every hour of use, during the more humid
winter months here in Calif.
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
AMfoto1@aol.com
http://hometown.aol.com/amfoto1/amfoto1.htm
Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 22:28:11 -0800
From: "D&B Lambert" <blambert@socal.rr.com>
Subject: RE: HF Blast Cabinet
Thanks for the info Aaron. Yes, I looked at the bigger cabinet, which
is on sale at the local HF store for $199. I agree wholeheartedly that
that one is far superior to the cheesy small one I am considering, and a
better value as well! There are two things I failed to mention in my
original post, however: 1) real estate is at a premium in my smallish
garage - I'm not sure I have room for anything other than a bench top
type unit. 2) The text describing the larger unit states that it
requires 12CFM at 40-80 PSI minimum. Unfortunately, my 18 gal
single-stage belt-drive "5hp" compressor lists output at 8.6 CFM @ 40PSI
and 7.1 @ 90. Doesn't sound like I have enough air to run a larger
blast cabinet. If I thought I would be using it more I'd find the room
somewhere, and then look for a larger compressor.
Thanks, Dennis
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